Col Solare is a Washington Bordeaux blend. Excellent bottle. Peppery big berry fruit, less sweet than most WA cab blends for which we were grateful, with good secondary material from 14 years in the bottle and a European kind of acidity. Held up over two hours of drinking, and was a good sipper though even better with food. My first Col Solare and a nice surprise.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

It would be interesting to see what you think of their newer vintages, if you get a chance to taste them sometime. The one I had was the 2008 (or maybe 2009, can't remember), but I found it offensive and off-putting with it's massive jammy fruit and clunky, oak-laden palate. Maybe they changed their winemaking style to get more press (they tout their WA 93 rating on their website), but it's too bad they didn't keep with the more elegant style of the one you tried.

They do love oak-laden up here! What I can't tell, or know since I didn't live here then, is what the 99 itself tasted like when young. I only know that the 99 vintage wines have aged particularly well so I pick them at auction--usually about half the price of a brand new bottle, too. Enables me to kind of back-fill my wine knowledge without waiting. What futzes everything up is the wineries who change wine style mid-stream--pretty prevalent occurrence in the late 90's/early 2000's when Quilceda Creek started chasing Parker Points with wild success--many followed suit.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Joy, I put our question to WA wine critic Paul Gregutt, and he says: "Col Solare has changed winemakers, established estate vineyards, and evolved considerably since then, so in no way would [your 99] be typical." Mystery solved.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Well, hopefully WA wineries will get over that trend soon. I really can't find much of anything out of there these days to match my palate preference. (The exception would be a couple of Owen Roe Syrahs & Cab from WA.) Although, we see much less WA wine around here than OR, so maybe we just can't get the good stuff in NE.

There really are some great wines made here; but unfortunately Col Solare probably suits the expectations of what people THINK sells best outside the state. Delille, a'Maurice (that's not misspelled) and Maison Bleue are three I'd direct your attention to, if you have a chance to taste them.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Jenise wrote:There really are some great wines made here; but unfortunately Col Solare probably suits the expectations of what people THINK sells best outside the state. Delille, a'Maurice (that's not misspelled) and Maison Bleue are three I'd direct your attention to, if you have a chance to taste them.

I was just in Walla Walla last weekend, tasted at a'Maurice and Maison Bleue, and was very impressed with both. Gramercy, Kerloo and Rotie also really stood out. All five, I think, are in the low (or no) new oak, higher-acidity, more balanced style of winemaking.

Bruce, hey, good to see you again! Thanks for adding to my reccos. Agreed, I've heard real good things about Rotie, and I even own a bottle or two but haven't opened any yet. Gramercy I've heard of but not tasted yet, and Kerloo's completely new to me. Will have to look them up--thanks for putting those names on my list--we might pop ever there in a few weeks, so these really will go on my list.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Jenise wrote:Joy, I put our question to WA wine critic Paul Gregutt, and he says: "Col Solare has changed winemakers, established estate vineyards, and evolved considerably since then, so in no way would [your 99] be typical." Mystery solved.

I had to parse your reply carefully, Jenise, to get the proper meaning of WA

Richard, I don't, but I'll do some digging for you. All I can offer is that 05 was a pretty 'good vintage' by American standards for ripeness and opulence that you and I don't necessarily subscribe to, so depending on when/how they picked and were feeling at the time, it could be anywhere on the map.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Richard, I'm now so glad you asked because your question caused me to go to the website, which I'd never visited before. And right there when you walk in the door is a drinkability chart with a small video, cut from a large tasting session in about 2011, in which the winemaker basically revisited, with a glass in hand, every vintage in their library (which doesn't go back that far). But anyway, I watched the vids for 99 and 05, and based on what he said about the 99 (which they still list as Drink or Hold, and I agree with that) I'd take his comments on the 05 to the bank. Good news or bad, it will tell you exactly what to expect.

Sadly, you can only believe about 10% of what you read on CellarTracker, IMO. Love it for organizing my wine inventory, but I find most folks' tasting notes to be all over the place (not to mention palate/style preference)...

Sadly, you can only believe about 10% of what you read on CellarTracker, IMO. Love it for organizing my wine inventory, but I find most folks' tasting notes to be all over the place (not to mention palate/style preference)...

Very true. So many young drinkers with more money than experience. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to ferret them out.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Jenise,Thanks for the good info. What a nice website. From Cellar Tracker I had the impression that there were several different wines, but apparently the Bordeaux blend Col Solare is their one and only, with that name. Seems like a kind of wine that I would want to serve at a dinner party where everybody gets one glass.